6 June 2008
A man in Bury St Edmunds has urged more retailers to begin using chip and sign forms of payment, something that may be of interest to those with credit cards.
The individual, 36-year-old Alan Watkins, is partially sighted and claimed that chip and pin is dangerous for those with impaired vision, reports the Bury Free Press.
He suggested that the lack of choice for these people is in some ways prejudiced and that stores ought to offer an alternative.
"Some shops don't seem to accept chip and sign if you are partially sighted or blind, which I feel is discrimination," he commented.
In response, a spokeswoman at the UK payments association Apacs stated that there are regulations in the banking code that suggest this form of transaction is possible.
Consumers have also been warned not to let their guard down by Apacs despite the emergence of chip and pin, as fraud is still possible.
Statements should be checked on a regular basis and pin numbers covered up, it advised.